The beautiful Puerto Rico.....I've been to Puerto Rico many times as we have family there. This however, was the first time ever taking my daughter who is now 7, to Puerto Rico, and my first time seeing the island after the storm. We had a family member fall ill so we went on a trip to Puerto Rico to visit. I had wished it was on better terms, so I guess you could say it was bitter sweet....exciting to take her for the first time but concerned for my Uncle who was ill. So off we go, my father, my daughter, and myself on a last minute flight to Puerto Rico.
Now, there are a few airports in Puerto Rico. The main one is in San Juan, the far east side of the island. The second largest one is in Aguadilla, the far west side of the island. Since my family lives on the west side, we flew in to Aguadilla airport. The people were so kind from the second we got off the plane, and all the way through our entire visit. Many of them trying their best to understand my broken Spanish, or trying even harder to speak English for me. I was quite surprised at how many people we ran into that spoke perfectly good English.
As I'm sure most of you know, Puerto Rico was hit hard with a hurricane not long ago. We drove around looking at the land. The roads were pretty clear with exception to one main curvy road on the coast that still had some damage. The vegetation however, sustained quite a bit of damage. A lot of tropical fruit trees, flowering trees, grasslands, etc. were destroyed. They are slowly coming back to life but there are still quite a few areas that were rendered swamps and they put off an odor that is quite pungent. We saw quite a few livestock animals that were so skinny and weak they could hardly stand as a lot of lush grass for them to eat had been destroyed and is only now coming back to life. It was quite hard to see. The houses had sustained quite a bit of damage but they are rebuilding. We saw quite a few brand new, large houses at the top of the mountains that looked 'off'. They didn't look like all the rest. My family explained to me that a lot of people from the states came to Puerto Rico and bought up land and built these large houses. It was interesting to see the vast difference....most of the houses in Puerto Rico are simple. Just large enough to meet the needs of the family, yet still small. Worn but still functional. Holding a lot of history and beauty in their own rusty ways. These new large, boldly painted houses donning the tops of the mountains stood out. It was something you couldn't help but to notice.
As we toured through the town where my family lives my cousin began to tell me how the community came together to pull out of the crisis. My cousin is lucky enough to live over top of a convenient store that has a generator. The owner of the store would power up the generator for the store and in turn, my cousins apartment would get power as well. It was one of the very few places that had power after the storm so my cousins collected up as much food as they could and they began to cook. They canvased the town with plates full of food handing them out to people in need. This was a daily routine for some time. One man a few blocks over had lost his house completely and was living in a tent on his land. The community came together to help him rebuild a new house. I got to see that house....it was perfect in every way. Not the most beautiful, large, brightly painted house like those on the top of the mountain, but perfect in that it functioned and it was built with a whole lot of love. It had character and history....and it provided shelter for those in need, so in that way, it was absolutely perfect in every sense. As we walked the beach, this man who was disabled and lived at the beach in his wheel chair approached my cousin with a big smile on his face. They began to talk, a little to fast for me to keep up but I could tell it was all in good spirits. She explained she would bring him food too and she would just sit and talk with him whenever she saw him. He became her friend. It was becoming apparent, that the love and simple life of this island was far more fierce then any hurricane could be. The beauty is far deeper then surface....it could be felt deep down in the depths of your being. The energy all around was so wonderful it was hard to think about the fact I would have to leave in just a few days.
We finally got to the hospital to visit with my uncle. We were told he had been very confused and not communicating much. When he saw my father he lit up. It was like he woke up from a sleep. He talked with my father for a bit. Then he saw me. He smiled so big and began to speak to me in English...reminiscing on how I took him for ice cream when he came to visit me in the states, and how when I came to visit him here in Puerto Rico last time, I put a coqui' frog in his tree and that coqui' sang happily for so long...he still lives in that tree now with a few others. It made him happy because there were few coqui on that side of the island so when I brought one with me from the far east side to his home on the west side, he got to hear the songs of the coqui again. The nurse came in and was in shock to see him so alert and to see him speaking English. She too spoke very good English and began to converse with us. She explained this was the most alert she has seen him the entire time he was there. The love he had for my father, for me, for our family, woke him up out of the sickened state he was in. With the right medicines, and a whole lot of love, it was only 2 days later he was able to be released from the hospital. What a blessing.
We continued to tour around, showing my daughter all the places my dad would roam as a child, all the important land marks, the history of Puerto Rico and our family. We saw some absolutely breath taking flowers, trees, and nature creatures. We ate some of the most delicious foods to touch our tongues. We tasted the sweet, juicy, tropical fruits fresh from the trees. We swam in the salty water of the ocean...taking in the fresh air. We grounded on the rocks and sand. We listened to the wind. This island, in the very short time we were there, gave us something so profound, it is something that will live in our hearts for a long time to come.
We got to meet with Pierre, the husband of my good friend Yadira who passed away shortly after the storm, and their three beautiful children. After the storm, I wanted to do what I could to help. I wanted to rush out there and lend my hands, clean, cook, be a support, whatever I could, but unfortunately the airports were not flying there and they blocked all teams from entering as they said it was creating more work for the first responders so I got to work putting together a garden kit. Of course my mind instantly went on to think about rebuilding. I got together a bunch of donations and I myself purchased a bunch of items to put together a kit to start a community garden. I talked to my friend Yadira who had recently moved to Puerto Rico just before the storm and she agreed to speak to the church to find a plot of land where they can build this community garden. I sent fast growing seeds, items that would do well there in the climate. Unfortunately, she passed away before being able to see the garden come to life. I wondered what would come of it....if the garden would still come to fruition. After speaking to Pierre, he advised that the church purchased a piece of land to rebuild their church building after the storm and they made sure they had enough land to put the community garden in! I was so happy to hear this! They are still working on building the structure but will put their focus on building the garden soon. They have been able to do this nearly debt free with the love, support, donations, and helping hands of the community. AMAZING!! When my cousin heard of the situation, she immediately asked if she could take part in helping. I sent her contact information to Pierre so she could be of assistance in the journey of rebuilding the church and building a new community garden. It really makes me feel so good to hear all of this.
This is what it is like when community comes together, despite politics, despite hard situations, despite despair....love prevails. Life could be so simple if you allow it to be. What we truly want verses what we truly need are two completely different things. When you learn to separate the two, it becomes so simple....love conquers all.
With lots of love
Kindred Acres
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